It's a normal day when Yugi and Co. go to KaibaCorp to see Seto for a mysterious reason...but the day turns interesting when everyone gets stuck in a hot, stuffy elevator! Do they EVER get out? COMPLETE!

Author's Note: Regular Bakura will be known as Ryou, while Yami Bakura will go as Bakura.

Disclaimer: I own none of the main characters, just the plot.

Chapter One: What Do You Mean The Elevator Doesn't Work?

"How much longer do we gotta wait?" complained Joey Wheeler, squirming in his chair. "We've been here for hours!" Té
a Gardner, who was sitting next to him, sighed.

"I'm sure it won't be much longer," Yugi Moto assured him, crossing his arms and staring intently at the rapidly typing receptionist. About an hour ago she had condescendingly told them to wait for an escort who would bring them to the main office and had ignored them ever since.

Yugi Moto, his Yami, and his friends Joey, Té
a, Tristan Taylor, Mai Valentine, Ryou, and Bakura were waiting in the main lobby of KaibaCorp to see the owner and CEO, Seto Kaiba, who had sent an e-mail for Yugi the previous day, requesting that he come to his office.

Joey groaned again and settled back perversely in his seat, grumbling. Yami absentmindedly flipped through a magazine. Té
a sat patiently, Mai filed her nails, Ryou read a book, Bakura scribbled something on a notepad, muttering to himself, and Tristan dozed in his chair, snoring loudly.

A huge man in a suit entered the lobby and walked toward the group. He carried a briefcase and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. He stopped before Yugi and his friends and glared at them for a moment before speaking. "Yugi Moto?"

Yugi looked up and smiled hesitantly. "Yes?"

"Follow me," the man instructed firmly. He turned on his heel and walked away in a brisk pace.

Joey laughed evilly and bent over the sleeping boy. "SPIDERS!" he screamed in Tristan's ear.

Tristan shrieked and leapt up, dancing around and brushing himself off wildly. "GET THEM OFF!" he squealed. Joey fell on the floor, laughing, kicking his legs in the air. Tristan realized what had happened and pounced on Joey. "YOU—
" Everyone else quickly hurried to follow the man in the suit.

"Mr. Kaiba will be with you in a minute," the large man informed the assembled group as he led them out of the elevator, through a small foyer, and into a large, well-furnished waiting area. "Wait here." He left quickly, closing the heavy oak door to the foyer behind him.

"Wow! Nice digs," observed Joey, running to peer out of the huge glass windows that made up the walls of the lounge.

"Mm-hmm," Yugi Moto agreed. He took a seat in a velvet armchair as his friends explored the room. This lobby was much nicer than the main one on the ground floor had been. The friends were in the private waiting room to Seto Kaiba's office at the top of the many-storied, high-tech office building. This lobby had solid oak hardwood floors covered with expensive oriental rugs, velvet and leather armchairs, and intricate glass and iron coffee tables.

"If this is the waiting room, I can't help but wonder what Kaiba's office looks like," Yami mused aloud, sending a wry smile to Yugi. Yugi shook his head in thought. He still hadn't figured out why Kaiba had summoned him there anyway. He read over the e-mail in his mind.

Yugi:

Come to my office tomorrow at 12:00. This meeting will serve to settle the debt between us.

—
Kaiba

Yami had been afraid that Kaiba meant to challenge Yugi to another duel, so he had insisted on coming along. Once he had, Joey had decided to go, then Tristan, then…so the whole gang ended up at KaibaCorp.

Yugi shook his head again and returned to the present when a loud crash sounded. Joey and Tristan had been arm wrestling and had knocked over one of the heavy iron, glass, and, from the looks of it, expensive coffee tables. Joey and Tristan leaped up guiltily, their faces pale, and began bickering and pointing at each other as to whose fault it was. Yami shook his head and sighed. He, Yugi, and Ryou helped right the table while Té
a yelled at the now submissive Joey and Tristan.

Suddenly, the large mahogany doors to what everyone presumed was Kaiba's office swung open with an audible creak. Seto Kaiba, clad in his traditional attire complete with long, dark blue trench coat, stood in the doorway. He cast a haughty gaze over the occupants of the room before settling on Yugi with a sneer. "I thought I only told you to come, not you and your entire group of stupid friends," he said mockingly.

Joey leapt in front of Kaiba angrily. "Who you callin' 'stupid', pal?" he demanded. He held up his fists in Kaiba's face.

Kaiba grinned meanly, and Yugi recognized the look in his eyes from the time at the Duelist Kingdom when Joey had confronted Kaiba and ended up face down on the ground. "Joey, stop!" he cried, pulling his friend back.

Kaiba directed his demeaning gaze to Yami. "I see you're well informed." He turned to Yugi. "That's correct. Come into my office and we'll discuss it." He turned and walked back through the doorway.

Yugi glanced in question at Yami, who nodded forward, indicating that Yugi should follow.

Yugi entered the office and was immediately amazed at its contents. If he had thought the waiting area was nice, than this room was spectacular. The latest and greatest technology covered tables and shelves that were made of beautiful, richly polished wood. A crystal chandelier hung from the double-tray ceiling, and three chairs facing an ornately carved desk were made of leather and iron.

"Wow, even nicer digs!" cried Joey, entering behind Yugi and patting his friend on the back. Yugi glanced behind his shoulder to see the rest of his friends enter and crowd behind him, trying to get a good look at all the features of the super-office.

Kaiba stood behind the large desk, his back to Yugi and his friends. He stared out the full glass windows onto the street below for a moment before turning. He glanced at Yugi's friends for a second before redirecting his attention to Yugi. "Sit."

Yugi sat obediently in one of the ornate chairs, trying to get comfortable. Mai quickly placed herself in the middle one, and Joey and Tristan began to do what two children playing musical chairs do when the music has stopped and they both want the same chair. Bakura quickly solved the problem by shoving them aside and taking the chair himself.

Kaiba, however, paid no heed. He sat at his desk and met Yugi's eyes. "I told you that you'd be well compensated for returning my dueling deck, and I am a man of my word." Yugi's eyebrows furrowed and he felt puzzled. Before he could open his mouth, Kaiba pointed to a briefcase [not his briefcase] leaning in front of his desk. Yugi hadn't noticed it before; he bent down to pick it up. "Open it," Kaiba directed.

Yugi's eyes widened and there was a collective gasp as he undid the clasps and opened the briefcase. The briefcase was filled with money in neat, grouped stacks. There had to be at least—

"There has to be at least a thousand smackers in there!" exclaimed Joey, letting go of Bakura's hair (which he had been yanking in an attempt to get the chair back) and coming to stand behind Yugi.

"Five thousand, actually. I do hope you think it's enough," said Kaiba smoothly. "Consider my debt to you gone."

"Kaiba, I can't accept your money," protested Yugi, remembering that Kaiba had told him during the King of Games tournament that he would be well compensated for returning his dueling deck, which some goons of Pegasus had stolen. "I only held onto your deck for a little while. You really don't have to pay me."

"Hey, if you don't want it, I'll take it," offered Mai, putting down her nail file and looking up, interested.

"No way! If he doesn't want it, it's mine," snapped Bakura, getting out of his seat, which was promptly taken by Tristan.

Kaiba's knuckles, clenched on sides of his desk, tightened and he scowled. "Take it."

"I don't want your money, Kaiba," Yugi insisted. He stepped forward and laid the briefcase on the desk in front of Kaiba.

Kaiba said nothing for a minute, just stared at the money and then at Yugi. He stood up suddenly and angrily. "Fine. It's your choice. But the debt is still over."

Yugi sighed exasperatedly. "There never was a debt, Kaiba," he tried to explain, but Kaiba cut him off.

"Now that this is taken care of, I have more important business to take care of that does not involve you." He irritably snatched the briefcase containing the money and his own metal briefcase and strode out of the room.

Yugi sighed and faced his friends. "I don' get it. Why didn't you take the money?" asked Joey.

Mai gave a humph. "Well, then you should have taken it and offered it to someone who could have used it!"

Joey snorted and faced Mai. "Used it on what? Nail polish and clothes?"

Mai's face grew read and she scowled angrily at Joey. "Shut up, Joey Wheeler, and don't talk about things you don't understand!" she spat. She turned around and huffed, "Males."

"I think Yugi did the right thing," commented Yami. Yugi smiled at him in gratitude and Té
a nodded fiercely.

"You should be congratulating him for doing the right thing, not chastising him," she scolded.

Ryou nodded. "Good going, Yugi."

A rude noise from the doorway got everyone's attention. "I hate to break up this little soap opera, but I'm going to be late for an important meeting. Did you plan to spend all day in my office?" demanded Kaiba, tapping his watch irritably.

Yugi and his friends quickly hurried out of the office, through the waiting area, and into the foyer. Kaiba shoved his way through the mass of friends from behind and pushed the button to summon the elevator. It didn't come for several minutes, and Kaiba impatiently pressed it again. Yugi was afraid that if he said anything Kaiba would bite his head off, as the duelist was obviously late and in a bad mood.

Joey, however, was not so cautious.

Sensing that Kaiba was in a bad mood, Joey decided to take full advantage of it. He pushed his way over to Kaiba, who stood directly in front of the elevator with his arms crossed. Noticing that Kaiba's gaze was directly parallel and fixed on the elevator, he waved his hand in front of his face a few times. "Hello-oo, anybody home?" he asked, trying hard not to giggle as Kaiba didn't blink and his gaze didn't falter, although a low growl was emitted from his throat. *Sweat drop all but Joey and Kaiba*

Fortunately, Joey's life was saved by the arrival of the elevator, whose doors opened quickly opened with a little ding! "Finally," Kaiba muttered, quickly boarding the elevator followed by the rest of the assembled company. He raised his arm to push the ground floor button, but was narrowly beaten by Joey.

"Can I push the button? I wanna push the button!" he cried, stepping on Kaiba's feet to get directly in front of the control panel.

"Out of my way!" shouted Kaiba, trying to push Joey out of the way. Joey, however, had nowhere to be pushed in the crowded elevator and retained his position. Grinning dopily, he pummeled the buttons with his index fingers, laughing like an idiot. "Hee hee hee, this is fun!" he giggled.

"I said 'out of my way,'" fumed Kaiba, actually lifting Joey a little off the ground and dropping him back on Tristan and Té
a, who fell to the floor of the elevator. Their friends tried to help them stand in the crowded elevator while Kaiba raged in the corner.

"It would be wise for you to learn to control your temper," said Yami quietly. Kaiba snorted but said nothing.

By now Joey had managed to get up (by yanking on his friends' clothes and limbs) and was furious himself. "You got some sorta problem, Kaiba!" he seethed. Kaiba said nothing and when Joey opened his mouth to say more, Tristan put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Ryou placed his hand on Joey's other shoulder and managed to squeeze between him and Kaiba. "Cool off a minute, Joey," he advised.

The noise in the elevator died away and Yugi looked around. The walls were covered in a flower print that he found particularly striking. The carpet was a deep crimson, and the doors were iron and wood. A black elevator phone hung from one wall.

Minutes passed, and Yugi noticed that the familiar feeling of the elevator in motion under his feet had ceased. Glancing up, Yami caught his glance and nodded, indicating that he too could sense that they weren't moving. Yugi then glanced at Kaiba, but didn't dare to say anything. Rage was still evident on the duelist's face and his eyes were closed. He leaned against a corner of the elevator and massaged his temples.

Yugi managed to catch all of his friends' eyes and could tell that they had all noticed the lack of motion from the elevator. He hesitated for a moment, thinking about saying something, but Joey beat him to it.

"Hey Kaiba, something wrong with this elevator? We haven't been moving for five minutes now!" Joey complained. Yugi could see Kaiba grit his teeth and he closed his eyes against the onslaught of a headache.

"Nothing's wrong with it, you mongrel! This elevator was specially designed for this building by the best architects in the world. It's the most advanced elevator available," Kaiba snapped. However, he did look like he noticed the elevator's lack of motion.

"Advanced-shmanced. I don't see how you advance an elevator so much anyway," complained Joey. Then he realized that Kaiba had called him a mongrel. "HEY!"

The elevator shook a little as Joey lunged for Kaiba….well, tried to get to Kaiba—
there wasn't really enough room to lunge.

"GET OFF ME!" screamed Mai, shoving Joey off of her and into the doors.

"Stop acting up, you animals," demanded Kaiba, reaching for the telephone. "I'll get someone to fix this elevator right away." He snatched the receiver and quickly punched in a number. Suspended silence hung in the air as everyone watched Kaiba listen to the ringing sound. Seconds stretched into hours. All eyes were focused on the phone—

"Hello?" Kaiba's voice pierced the silence of the elevator and everyone breathed a sigh of relief—
a very short sigh, as it was beginning to get stuffy in the tight space of the elevator. Now everyone hung on every word of the phone conversation. "Mokuba? It's me. I need you to get—
what? Not now. I'm stuck in the—
I said not now! What? Mokuba, this is not the time to discuss that! That's not true—
Mokuba, listen to me. I'm stuck in—
listen to me!I said not now! Don't even think about it, you little—
hello? Mokuba? Are you there? Hello? MOKUBA!?!" Kaiba ripped the receiver off the cord in anger and chucked it as hard as he could.

Unfortunately, there is only so far you can chuck something in an elevator.

"OWW!" shrieked Bakura, clutching his head in pain. "YOU #)*&%@ MORTAL!!" he screamed, trying to claw at Kaiba's eyes. Yami and Ryou tried to restrain him, but it's pretty hard to control an ancient, angry, evil spirit of a magical ring. "I'LL SEIZE YOUR SOUL FOR THIS!"

Kaiba's eyes grew wide and he backed against the corner of the elevator. "Keep that freak away from me!" Bakura's eyes were wide and scary-looking, and he was trying to use his dark magic to rip Kaiba's soul out of his body. Tristan and Yugi were trying to help Yami and Ryou, to not much avail.

…And the elevator didn't move.

More Author's Notes: I have nothing against any of the characters, except Joey (if you don't like him either, go read The Pro-Joey Story, be me), but I'm trying not to let any of my resentment affect anyone's behavior in this story. Yes, some people may be out of character, but I'm not one of the show's writers. I'm sorry if I do something mean to a character you like, it's just part of the story. My favorite characters must suffer too!

Please review! 0_o

Preview of Chapter Two: Just how many flowers are there on the wallpaper, anyway? How long can Tristan hold his breath? Remember the "don't-touch-me" part from Ocean's Eleven?

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.